Through The Ears
by blackwidow73
Summary: Louise looks back on the events surrounding her daughter.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Beginnings

There were a few mistakes here and there, but the young girl seemed to catch onto the notes pretty well. The song was there, and there were parts of it that she could play flawlessly. As the tune Moonlight Sonata rang clear through the small theater, her little pink bunny ears bounced as she moved, turning her head to concentrate on the keys before her, her handwork.

Louise didn't know how her little Carly did it. At the age of five, she seemed to be talented, blessed with the gift of music. Perhaps she got it from wherever Gene got it.

At the age of twenty one, she knew that she shouldn't be a parent yet, but here she was. And she loved it, for the most part. It was hard. She was still living at home and going to class for a business degree. She would work part time at the Wharf, the rest of her time spent helping at the restaurant and caring for Carly.

Sitting there, side bangs and pink streaks running through her long black hair as she wore a dark purple dress with her leather jacket and combat boots with black tights. Her style had changed a little. Next to her was her father, whose style remained exactly the same. Then Linda, Tina and her fiance Jimmy Jr., and then Gene.

She could remember the night that her daughter was conceived. It was right after the party that they had thrown for Tina.

oooooo

Six Years Earlier

Louise sat at the counter, playing with her phone. She loved her brother and sister, but lately it seemed to her as though they were getting all the attention. They were doing all of these things, and she herself wasn't doing anything.

So far Gene had actually advanced in his music career. The community theater was doing an adaption of Cats and he was chosen to help with the music. It wasn't much, but it was something. He was getting paid for it. And it gave him some extra credit for his music classes at the high school for the arts that he was attending.

Tina was into writing and was just awarded a full scholarship for a writing program at UCLA. She would be leaving for school in a few days. This was her big goodbye.

They were both moving onto bigger and better things while she was stuck here in the normal public high school. She wasn't sure yet of what her talent was, or if she even had any.

"Whatchya doin?"

Louise didn't even bother to look away from the tiny screen as she knew who it was from their voice.

"What do you want, Kevin?"

He pulled up a stool and sat beside her, looking over her shoulder as she went through pictures she had taken so far at the party. There weren't many, but they were weird for her to see.

"You look lonely," he told her.

It had been no secret to anyone in her class that Kevin liked her. They had all known since the first day of Freshman year.

Louise however, continued to pretty much ignore him as she searched for anything to do on her phone occupy her.

"Yeah? Well I'm not. Funny how things aren't always as they look, isn't it?" She asked.

Truth be told, she just felt left out tonight. Everyone was congratulating her siblings while she had nothing happening. That's how it had been for a while now. The only thing that truly bothered her was that she wasn't used to it by now.

Kevin nodded, sensing that she didn't want him around her. However, he wasn't about to give up just yet. He had been trying to get her attention for almost a year now, he couldn't stop now.

"You wanna go outside and talk?" He offered.

Louise emitted an over exaggerated sigh as she threw back her head. "No!"

"You sure?" Kevin questioned.

"Louise!" Linda called out to her. "We need you to take another picture with us! You need to finally be in one!"

Louise looked over towards her family and sighed. She loved them, but she didn't want to have to go back into that crowd. And she definitely did not want to have her picture taken, that was why she had been volunteering to take all of them.

"Fine," she defeatedly answered as she hopped off the stool.

oooooo

Looking back on that night, it was hard for her to believe that that's the conversation that lead to the existence of her little Carly. Of course, the beer that he stole for them after they met in the alley played a pretty big part too.

The weird thing was that she never drank like that. Sure, at parties she would have a drink or two, but they had managed to go through a couple of six packs. It were as though the feelings of being a disappointment were only feeding her drunken state. And now she drank, but it was only some nights, and it was with her mom. They would split bottles of wine after a rough week.

That was something that was weird for her too, her newfound closeness with her mother. It used to be that she would always run to Bob, she was daddy's girl. And that favoritism still did exist, they still had the burn unit, and on Saturday nights Carly would join them. It was just a little harder to tell that he was the favorite now. And she appreciated Linda a lot more now.

Oddly enough, it was the pregnancy that had brought them closer together. It all pretty much started the night that she told her family about the baby.

oooooo

Six years earlier.

"Damn it," she hissed under her breath as she paced the small bed room.

Just last week she had cancelled plans with Jessica because she thought that she had the flu. Now she was facing the news that there was a baby instead of a bug.

It had been weird though, every time that Louise had felt better, Linda would look at her. She seemed nervous. Now she knew why, she understood the suspicion. Everything made sense to her now. The way that her mom was paying more attention to her and asking her if there was something that they needed to discuss. They really did have something to talk about, and she just didn't know it then.

Stopping for a moment, she stared at herself in the mirror. The green dress and bunny ears had long since been traded in for a black short sleeve shirt, jean shorts, green converse, and a pink scarf that she wore in her long, black, straight hair. She had grown up, and her appearance was proof, but she still felt like a little girl right now. This was too much for her to handle.

Even though she was pretty sure that her parents already knew, she was scared to tell them. She knew that Gene would be there for her after she got yelled at, but the thought of being the disappointment once again was enough to make her want to cry.

"Gene! Louise! Dinner!" Linda called.

Louise took a deep breath. It was now or never. There must have been a good way to handle this, but she wasn't sure what it was yet. And it was too late to come up with any ideas.

As casually as she could, she walked into the kitchen. Gene was sitting there next to Bob, blue tips in his hair now as he hurried to reach over and grab the bowl of mashed potatoes. Bob was sitting there reading an article he had found as he waited for Linda and Louise. Linda was just sitting down and pouring herself a glass of wine. All and all, it seemed like a normal dinner.

"Geeze Gene, save some of those potatoes, I need them more than you do now since I'm eating for two," she awkwardly joked as she went to sit down in her spot.

The room fell silent for a moment. She let out a small nervous laugh as she felt everyone looking at her.

"What?" Bob asked, staring at her with wide eyes.

"Oh my God! I knew it," Linda cried, setting her glass down on the table.

Bob quickly looked to Linda, beginning to panic. "What did you know? Lin? Tell me what you knew!"

"I think she meant that she's pregnant," Gene bluntly stated.

"Who did this to you?" Bob angrily questioned as he turned back to Louise.

The young teen slightly flinched back away from him. She knew that he would be mad, she just didn't do a good job of bracing herself for it.

"Kevin," she muttered.

"Louise! Go to your room! We'll deal with you later!" Linda yelled, wanting to calm down her husband before they did anything. "Gene too!"

The two got up and walked to Louise's room. They could hear their parents arguing, yelling. She figured that she was just lucky to be out of the room as they "discussed" the current problem. Even though she was out of the room, she still felt like she wanted to vomit from the anxiety.

"At least now whatever you do, it won't be as bad as this," Gene mentioned, following her into the room and closing the door behind him.

This was probably a good time to allow Louise to be by herself, but Gene wanted to make sure that she was all right. He was worried about her.

"I guess," she flatly replied, plopping down onto her bed.

"Hey, it won't be so bad," Gene told her as he went and sat beside her.

Louise softly laughed. "What? The baby or mom and dad?" She asked.

"Think about it, the worst that could happen is that they kick you out. And I don't see them doing that. Even if they did, Aunt Gayle would let you stay with her," he explained, keeping optimistic.

Neither of them thought that she would be getting kicked out, their parents just weren't like that. However, it was possible that they would have her go out and find a job as soon as the baby was born. Which, that wouldn't be bad.

"Staying with her would be the worst punishment of all," she joked, starting to feel a little better. An actual smile on her face.

"Louise? We need to talk!" Linda called from the other side of the door.

"Welp, I gotta go," Gene said, hopping off the bed.

He went over to the door, stopping to offer her a smile before leaving. As soon as he opened it, Linda softly smiled, stepping aside to allow him to leave.

"Louise?" She asked, cautiously entering the room.

Louise sighed, wanting to get this over with already. "You're not gonna catch it," she told her.

"I know how it works, believe me," she replied, closing the door behind her.

She walked over, watching Louise as she sat down onto the bed. It was hard for her to believe that her little Louise was pregnant. She never thought this was happen to either of her daughters. Neither of them were constantly going out and getting into big trouble. Louise might have been a little more outgoing than Tina, but she still wasn't one to get into these types of situations.

This was a day that she hadn't prepared herself for. She wasn't even sure how to begin. Yell at her? It was pretty obvious that she was already suffering the consequences of her actions. Yelling wouldn't change the situation. Being too gentle might give her the wrong idea.

"I messed up," Louise said, trying to get the conversation started.

"I know you did sweetie," Linda responded, her hand going to rest on her daughter's shoulder.

"I'm sorry." It didn't mean much now, but it was all she could think to say to her mom.

"I'm afraid that doesn't cut it," she firmly replied.

"I know."

"I don't think you do. Do you have any idea what you have ahead of you? You're going to be a mother!" Linda was starting to freak out once more, but retracted her hand and took a second to try and calm herself.

"So you even have any idea what you want to do here?" She asked.

Louise gulped, not knowing what all her options even were right now. Adoption? Abortion? Keeping the thing? She wasn't all too sure of what she could handle.

"I don't know," she uttered.

It was the first time in her life that she had truly been scared of anything. There had been silly childish fears such as the dentist, but this was big. This was the first time that she really had to own up to something, that she had to be responsible.

Linda saw how scared she was and instinctively leaned in and embraced her. It wouldn't solve everything like she used to think, but it was something, it was a form of comfort in a desperate time.

"Don't worry," she soothed. "You'll be alright, I promise."

Louise didn't even reply, she just sat there. It was the first time that she didn't try and pull away from her or roll her eyes. Right now, she needed her mother and she wasn't about to deny it.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: A Night Together (Part 1)

"How are you so talented?" Louise asked as she approached her daughter back stage to pick her up and scoop her into her arms.

"I just am!" Carly squealed as she was being lifted up into the air.

Louise held her on her hip, looking to her with a smirk. "Well gee, maybe if you're just that good for no reason, I can stop sending you to your lessons," she teased.

Carly's eyes widened with fear. "No mommy!" She begged.

Louise softly laughed as she proceeded to carry her out into the lobby where the rest of the family was waiting.

"There's my little song bird!" Linda gushed with her hands folded before her chest.

"I might have to start writing duets," Gene remarked.

Louise set the child down so that she could run over towards her grandpa who was smiling. "You did good up there," Bob stated as he picked her up.

Louise smiled at the site, crossing her arms as she slowly went to join the others. She stopped beside her sister, continuing to watch as Bob, Linda, and Gene decided to fluff her daughter's ego.

"When did she start wearing your ears?" Tina asked.

"About a year ago. Turns out mom kept them," Louise answered.

"Did she think you were going to go back to wearing them?" Jimmy Jr. asked.

A few years ago, Louise would have been asking the same questions. She would have been laughing at her mother for even thinking about keeping those dumb ears. Now that she had Carly though, she understood it. She wanted to save every part of this little girl's life that she could. She would probably save this sheet music from tonight.

oooooo

One year earlier.

Linda sat upstairs with Carly while Bob stayed down in the restaurant and Louise was attending class. It was the very beginning of winter and the little girl wasn't feeling all that well, she had a minor cold, which to a four year old is the equivalent of the flu.

The toddler laid down on the couch, wrapped up in a blanket with her head resting on her grandma's lap. They were looking for something to watch on tv.

"Gamma?" Carly asked. It took her a little while to learn how to say it properly.

"What is it, sweetie?" Linda responded as she aimlessly switched through the channels.

"Who's that?" Carly questioned, pointing to the picture of Tina, Gene, and Louise from when they were younger. It hung up on the wall near the doorway.

"That's your mommy and your Aunt Tina and your Uncle Gene," Linda explained. "Your mommy's the one with the bunny ears."

"Why did she has bunny ears?" She questioned as she sat up to examine the picture better.

Linda slightly laughed as she looked down to Carly. "It was her favorite hat. She never took it off."

Linda herself never completely understood the appeal of the ears. They were pink, and she had tried wearing them before, it just felt weird. But, they made Louise happy and that was the important thing.

"Can I has one?" Carly asked, beginning to get excited.

Linda should have seen the question coming, but she didn't. It caused her to laugh even more before she stood.

"Let's take a small trip to grandma's room," she said, scooping the child up into her arms.

"Yay," she softly cheered as they made their way down the hall.

Linda set her down onto the bed and proceeded over to the closet where she grabbed an old shoe box. It didn't look like much, but it contained a few items that each child held near and dear when they were younger. From Tina she kept one of her notebooks full of friend fiction that she left behind when she moved out and one of her toy horses. From Gene she kept his megaphone and some of the music he wrote but didn't want. Then finally from Louise, she kept the ears and her Kutchi Kopi nightlight.

She carried the box over and sat down with it in front of Carly, smiling as she went to open it. It had been a while since she had gone through the contents of this container.

"Here we go," she said as she took the pink ears and handed them to Carly. "Your mommy's little ears."

The little girl's face instantly lit up with joy as she reached out and took the ears. There wasn't anything great about them, the fabric was worn, there were loose threads and places where it looked as though the fabric was about to tear, but they were her worn pink bunny ears.

She knew exactly what she wanted to do with them, wear them like she had seen in the picture. She took them and placed the slightly oversized hat on her head, smiling as though she had been given the best gift ever.

The sight was enough to melt Linda's heart. "Awe! It's another little Louise!" She squealed as she went and lifted the front part of the hat enough so that the fabric wouldn't be covering the child's eyes.

oooooo

Present day.

"Do you really think that I'm in the position to be worrying about finding a date?" Louise asked, beginning to laugh at the mere thought.

The family decided to take Carly out to dinner after her performance. It was one of those rare times that the family was all together anymore. Gene was busy writing commercial jingles. It sounded silly, but it took time and it got him more than enough money. Tina was busy with her

wedding planning and she and Jimmy Jr. were off looking for a house. They were all starting to go off in their separate ways.

"I'm just saying, I know a lot of guys that would be interested. I think you would like them," Gene offered.

"I'll take you up on that offer," Tina quietly stated. "Just kidding, I'm engaged," she said once she noticed no one really even heard her.

"I'll take you up on the offer!" Carly announced with excitement, causing Louise to nervously laugh.

"No, no you won't," she told her. "Saying yes is what got me here."

Gene was about to make a remark on that, but his phone began to ring. "Hold that thought," he said before jumping up and hurrying off to answer it.

Bob watched as he rushed away, slightly concerned. "What's so important that he has to go off like that?"

"Maybe it's a business call," Linda suggested, not seeming to think that much of it. She was aware that all three kids had their own lives now. "A little jingle emergency," she joked, grabbing her glass to take a gulp of her wine.

Louise eyed her brother, suspicious. She knew that there was something happening. He looked awful happy to get that phone call. There were other occasions in which there would be a work related call, and most times he would just wait and call them back.

"I'll be right back," Louise said, getting up to go follow Gene.

"Where's she going?" Carly asked, looking over to her grandparents.

"Probably to go spy on your Uncle," Bob casually answered.

He knew that Louise probably shouldn't be over there, but he felt weird about the whole thing. There was something wrong that Gene wasn't telling them and he wanted to know that he was all right. Then again, he didn't look too nervous when he answered that phone. He looked excited.

"So anyways we think we found a house that we like," Tina announced, figuring now was the right time even though part of the family was missing.

"Awe! What did you find?" Linda asked. She was probably as excited about this house as Tina was. Every weekend she would cut out furniture and designs from magazines that she liked and would mail them to her. She was ready and willing to be a huge part of this.

"Ranch style. It's near the beach," Jimmy Jr. proudly answered.

"Down in Virginia, close to where I'm going to be an English professor," Tina chimed in.

"My little baby's a big shot professor! Look at you!" Linda proudly stated. She got up and walked around to the other side of the table to hug her daughter. "I'm so proud of you!" She told her while squeezing her.

"Thank you," Tina replied, finding it hard to breathe.

"Are you going to be moving your dance studio down there?" Bob asked. He wanted to congratulate Tina, but he had to make sure that Jimmy would be able to provide at least a small living for them. He didn't want him bumming off of her.

"I've actually applied to a few openings at the schools for dance teachers. If I don't get any of those I'll move my studio down there," Jimmy Jr. explained.

Meanwhile, Louise leaned her shoulder against the wall behind Gene as he tried to remain secretive right outside of the bathrooms.

"I'll be back in a few days," Gene said. "I promise."

Louise could tell that this was someone important to him. All she wanted to know though, was who. Was this someone that was just a really close friend? Or perhaps a lover? Her brother's life seemed to be a huge mystery to her anymore. It was kind of exciting in a way, knowing that at any second he could drop this huge announcement. On the other hand she missed how close they used to be.

"Who's your friend?" She inquired as soon as he hung up the phone.

Gene jumped, gasping as he wheeled around to see his sister standing there. A hand went to his chest as he tried to calm himself.

"Are you trying to kill me?"

She took a couple steps towards him, a smirk on her face. "I'm trying to figure out who the new Mrs. Belcher might be," she informed him.

He awkwardly looked down to the phone and then back at his sister. "There isn't one," he defensively argued. "It was just a co-writer I'm working with."

"Is it a Mr. Belcher that we might be adding to the family?" She questioned, the smirk dropping to a soft smile.

Gene awkwardly shoved his phone into his pocket. He froze for a second, searching for something to tell her. His eyes darted around the room, but nothing was helping him. It was beginning to get to the point where there would be nothing that he could say that would convince her otherwise. The silence had been too long.

Louise offered him a huge smile. "Oh my God! It is!"

"You got a picture? I wanna see if he's cute enough for you!" She requested as she went to stand beside him.

Gene supposed that he didn't mind Louise knowing. She was pretty cool with the whole thing. And he was pretty sure that his whole family would be supportive. It was just a matter of being ready to tell everyone. He needed to wait for the right moment to announce it.

"I'll show you tonight, alright? Just, just don't tell anyone else yet, okay?" He nearly begged.

She was taken slightly aback by the tone of seriousness in his voice. It was something that she had been aware of for quite some time, and she figured that most of the family already knew. But she didn't expect him to be this sensitive about the whole thing.

"Not a word, I promise," she assured him.

"I just need to be able to tell them myself," he explained, his expression softening.

"Just do a better job than I did of telling them I was pregnant," she teased.

"That's not gonna be hard," he responded with a laugh.


End file.
